One year after the widespread political awakening that stemmed from the 2024 July uprising, experts and political leaders observe that Bangladesh鈥檚 political parties have not yet heeded the wake-up call to initiate any meaningful internal reforms.
Despite extensive discussion on and profound public aspirations for positive changes in the political culture, they observe, people鈥檚 aspirations may remain unfulfilled, raising doubts about the integrity of broader democratic reforms.
Experts said that internal party reform was crucial for national democratic progress, observing that little or no progress has been achieved on the ground necessary for a democratic transition after the fall of the authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasian on August 5, 2024.
Political parties continue to remain highly centralised, dominated by top leaders, without transparency, accountability, and a democratic process for the leadership selection, they commented.
While some political figures asserted that reform efforts had commenced in their parties, most observers argued that these initiatives were minimal 鈥� largely symbolic, or limited, or simply rhetoric.
They pointed out that even newly established political organisations, which initially promised alternative approaches, were increasingly adopting the same undemocratic practices seen in older parties.
Political scientist Dilara
Chowdhury told 抖阴精品 on Monday that without democratic practices within the party structure, democracy in the country itself stayed at risk.
Despite growing pressure since the uprising, no initiative for internal reform was visible in major parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party, she pointed out.
Dilara criticised the deeply-entrenched centralism in the country鈥檚 political culture, where individuals often hold multiple roles 鈥� such as party chief, prime minister, and Member of Parliament.
She said that this concentration of authority suppresses internal democratic dissent and undermines grassroots participation.
鈥榃ithout internal democracy, political parties cannot credibly promote democracy in the country 鈥� and the crisis is already unfolding after the July uprising,鈥� said Dilara.
Jahangirnagar University government and politics professor K M Mahiuddin identified three critical areas for reform within the political parties of Bangladesh: democratic leadership selection, greater involvement of grassroots members in shaping policies, and full disclosure of party funding and expenditures.
He berated the country鈥檚 political parties for their continued failure to initiate these reforms, especially in the wake of the August 5 political changeover.
While much of the national debate has focused on constitutional reforms like reinstating the caretaker government or limiting the prime minister鈥檚 powers, Mahiuddin suggested these changes would be ineffective unless the deeper problem of undemocratic and dysfunctional political tradition was addressed first.
Mahiuddin referred to international examples, such as in the United Kingdom and the United States, saying that even powerful leaders like Margaret Thatcher did not become autocratic due to strong internal party mechanisms and institutional checks.
Genuine democratic governance, he said, requires internal democracy in political parties.
BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury conveyed optimism, claiming that internal reforms were under way in his party.
鈥楻eform is our responsibility and every party must do the same,鈥� he said.
Khasru attributed the earlier lack of progress in this regard to the 17 years of political restrictions that limited activities, expression, and party organisation.
Saying that the BNP has already begun responding to both public and internal expectations, he expressed confidence that the party would carry out reforms effectively.
Our party has taken steps to address concerns over leadership selection and financial transparency, Khasru said.
He also said that voting was ongoing in various regions, leading to the emergence of new leadership.
The BNP leader mentioned that the party had also initiated efforts to increase women鈥檚 participation, aiming for at least 10 per cent representation in elected bodies, with a long-term target of 30 per cent.
Rashtra Sangskar Andolan chief coordinator Hasnat Qayyum said that political parties demanding democracy at the state level failed to uphold the same values within their own organisations.
A party, he said, cannot truly demand democracy if it operates mainly for individuals, families, or patronage networks.
Qayyum criticised the lack of party councils, unclear leader selection processes, and poor financial transparency.
Even newly formed parties, he claimed, are taking to old habits with greater intensity.
Despite the promise of change following the August 5, 2024 political shift no real progress has been made and without internal reform, party-led political renewal would remain impossible, Qayyum concluded.
National Citizen Party senior joint convener Samanta Shermeen expressed concern over the lack of action following the August 5 political shift, saying that despite the creation of state-level reform commissions, no real progress had been made in making party structures more democratic.
She identified entrenched corruption and internal power struggles as major barriers to party reform, warning that state-level reforms would not succeed if parties remained undemocratic.
Samanta acknowledged that even new parties like the NCP fell into old patterns, emphasising that systemic changes required a collective political will as a single party could not bring about the needed reform.
Revolutionary Workers Party of Bangladesh general secretary Saiful Haque said that without internal democracy, state-level changes would remain superficial.
He said that although internal reform was not yet a formal focus of the current reform commission, pressure for changes was growing.
Saiful Haque advocated for secret-ballot elections for deciding leaderships at all tiers and greater accountability within the party as the essential first steps.
He added that despite much discussion on the issue, real actions remain to be seen.
Ganosamhati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki said that following the July uprising, his party had been adapting to changes in youth ideology and public expectations by strengthening internal democracy.
He explained that their party encouraged grassroots decision-making, structured consultations, youth participation, and ensuring local voices are heard through national committee meetings held before central committee sessions.
Saki expressed support for amending article 70 of the constitution to foster more independent thinking within parties, warning that parties suppressing independent voices could not be genuinely democratic.
He said that youths would increasingly demand change, adding that if major parties continued to operate authoritatively a broader democratic system would remain elusive.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair acknowledged that reforms were needed, observing that progress had been slow.
He said that their party had made some constitutional changes and improved discipline since August.
However, he warned that without internal democracy and moral integrity, no party could effectively support state-level democratic reforms.
Zubair also cautioned that parties failing to change risked losing relevance, especially among young voters.
